Championing local talent – Q&A with Jabad Jaigirdar

What inspired you to create the Jabad Jaigirdar Bursary?

The objective of the bursary is to promote diversity, and address the disproportionate under-representation of talented North East students from low-income backgrounds at elite universities.

A recent survey by the National Union of Students found that 40 per cent of higher education students considered leaving their course, with many citing financial reasons. We hope this bursary ensures that personal background, social identity and socio-economic circumstances are not barriers to success.

Diversity at JLF is a business imperative. Diverse teams can better understand the needs of our clients, and diverse and inclusive workplaces attract top talent. This is why it is so important to have initiatives like this.

What advice would you give to young people from the North East who aspire to pursue a career in law?

From humble beginnings myself, I am a firm believer that anyone with passion and drive should be afforded every opportunity.

My father was a first-generation immigrant, and I was a first-generation university student.

My journey to founding my own commercial law firm has therefore transcended social and economic barriers.

I hope this inspires young people from underrepresented backgrounds, particularly in the North East, to excel and pursue careers in law with no ceiling on the possibilities.

How did your own experiences as a first-generation university student influence your decision?

Like many students from lower income backgrounds, I worked part-time to fund my studies, which inevitably meant missing out on valuable study time and sometimes the wider university experience.

This bursary will provide the additional financial support to those hit hardest and in turn help students have a better and more enriching university experience with greater opportunities at the end of it.

What impact do you hope this bursary will have on students from the North East?

The relatively small number of students from low-income families in the North East studying at Oxbridge universities is a well-documented challenge; the creation of this bursary will help address this head on.

We hope that this bursary will set the groundwork to support a pipeline of future lawyers and leaders graduating from elite establishments like Cambridge University.

How do you think financial barriers affect the aspirations of young people, particularly those interested in studying law?

A lower socio-economic background (LSEB) can be a barrier to accessing and succeeding in the legal profession and as a result the proportion of LSEB individuals in the legal profession is significantly lower than the national average. Lawyers in the legal sector have therefore not traditionally reflected the societies they work within.

How do you think initiatives like yours can contribute to making the legal profession more diverse and inclusive?

The underlying objective of this bursary is to add greater diversity to the legal sector by encouraging young people from all backgrounds in the North East to consider a professional career in the legal sector.

From monetary support to mentoring and placement opportunities, the bursary has been developed to offer recipients a solid first few steps on their way to a successful career in law.

It is my personal objective that JLF is a firm that stands above the rest in promoting diversity and inclusion in the legal industry. Law is a universal language. Encouraging students from regions underrepresented at elite universities that go on to graduate and pursue a career in law will therefore lead to greater understanding, collaboration and seamless solutions to legal issues.

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